Life-Changing Udon Noodles
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If you are under the impression you need to spend hours toiling over a pot of bones to make a highly seasoned broth to then make a good bowl of noodles, you must make Hetty McKinnon’s “life-changing” udon noodles from her latest book To Asia, With Love.
The broth is made with three ingredients — vegetable stock, soy sauce, and mirin — and after it comes to a simmer, it’s done. The rest of the broth’s flavor comes from garnishes: a pat of butter, a drizzle of sesame oil, a sprinkling of scallions, a pinch of sea salt, and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. The yolks of soft-boiled eggs impart the broth with a richness, and if you like a bit of spice, a spoonful of Sambal Oeleck or chili paste of choice seasons it further.
I love adding a heap of baby bok choy or other greens to make it a meal. If you like this idea, too, simply add them to the pot of boiling udon noodles, which typically cook in 1-3 minutes — the frozen udon noodles I buy cook in 1 minute, which is all the time most greens need.
Every time I make this soup, I am astounded by how quickly it comes together and by how flavorful and nourishing it is. In the intro to the recipe, Hetty writes that the recipe was inspired by a dish served at Shin Udon in Tokyo, the flavors and textures of which were “life-changing.”
About To Asia With Love
- Something I love about To Asia, With Love are the anecdotes, such as the one mentioned above. Many of the stories in TAWL are rooted in travel and discovery, which I think we all are craving right now.
- Like all of Hetty’s previous three books, To Asia, With Love is beautiful: its design, its photography, its recipes. In Hetty’s newsletter last fall, when she first shared this recipe, she described this book as her “most personal to date,” noting that it is “full of everyday Asian recipes made with simple ingredients (many of which you will already have in your pantry) along with personal stories of growing up in a Chinese household in Sydney.”
- I want to make everything in TAWL, namely the “restaurant greens”, which is my favorite thing to order at Chinese restaurants. I recently made the TAWL pad Thai salad, which was absolutely delicious (photo below). I’ll be sharing that recipe on my Instagram stories tomorrow, so follow along on Instagram if you’d like to try that recipe. I’ll keep it highlighted in my stories.
- There are two ways I keep up with Hetty: her Instagram and her newsletter. She is wonderful.
Friends! I have an extra copy of To Asia, With Love as well as a pair of TAWL chopsticks (photo below) along with some other Asian pantry treats. I’d love to give these goodies to one of you. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Tell me where you will travel first when you get the chance. I’m dying to go to Italy to eat pizza, England to watch soccer games, and Vietnam for noodles. Where do YOU want to go? The giveaway has been closed. The winner is: Sunny. I’ve emailed you. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful comments 💕 Love reading about where we’ll all travel next 💕
PS: Hetty’s Sushi Salad (This recipe comes from Hetty’s last book, Family, and after discovering it, I made it on repeat for weeks. It’s one of my favorites.)
How to Make Life-Changing Noodles
First, get the broth going by combining vegetable stock, soy sauce or tamari, and mirin in a pot. Bring it to a simmer.
Meanwhile, halve small heads of baby bok choy or other greens of choice.
You’ll need udon noodles (or other) noodles for this soup. I can’t recommend buying frozen udon noodles enough. They cook in 1 minute, and couldn’t be more delicious.
What your stovetop will look like: 1 pot for the noodles and greens (if using), 1 pot for the eggs, and 1 pot for the broth.
Cook the eggs for 6 minutes (for very soft boiled eggs) or 7 minutes for less runny soft-boiled eggs. Transfer to an ice bath immediately.
Cook the noodles and greens for 1 to 3 minutes.
Drain.
Transfer greens and noodles to a bowl; then pour the broth over top.
Add a knob of butter, a drizzle of sesame oil, and a handful of scallions.
Top with soft-boiled eggs. Season with sea salt and lots of pepper.
Add some chili paste if you wish.
Enjoy!
Such a good one! To Asia, With Love
This is the pad Thai salad from TAWL. Follow along on Instagram for the recipe tomorrow, April 7th.
PrintLife-Changing Udon Noodles
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
From Hetty McKinnon’s To Asia, With Love
Notes:
- Every recipe in To Asia, With Love is vegetarian. Hetty’s note from the book: To veganise this recipe, omit the eggs and use vegan butter.
- You may find you might want more of the broth (it’s so good), so just keep the ingredients handy — the veg stock, tamari or soy, and mirin. I often make a double batch of broth.
- Scale the recipe as needed. I often make a half recipe, which is perfect for Ben and me. Note: In the video, I make a half recipe, but I do not halve the amount of soy sauce — I use 2 tablespoons instead of 1.5 tablespoons. One of you noted that this made for a salty broth, so please keep this in mind if halving the recipe. Start with 1.5 tablespoons and add more salt to taste.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 800 g (1.75 lbs.) udon noodles
- 1/4 to 1/2 lb. of greens such as baby bok choy, optional
- 500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons mirin
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 80 g (6 tbsp) butter, cubed, or to taste, see recipe
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil or to taste
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- Sambal Oelek or other chili paste, optional
Instructions
- Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the eggs and set the timer for 6 minutes. As soon as the buzzer goes, immediately drain the eggs into a colander and run under cold water (or transfer to an ice bath) until they are completely cold. (This will make very soft-boiled eggs – if you prefer a firmer yolk, cook them for another minute.) Peel and set aside.
- Cook the udon noodles (and greens if using) in a large saucepan of salted water according to the packet instructions until al dente. This should only take 1–3 minutes, depending on whether your noodles are fresh, vacuum-sealed, or frozen. Drain, then scoop the hot noodles (and greens) into four bowls.
- Meanwhile, combine the stock, tamari or soy sauce, and mirin in a small saucepan and place over low heat until hot.
- Pour the hot broth over each bowl of noodles (and greens), and top with a soft-boiled egg. Add a knob of butter and allow it to melt into the noodles. Add the scallions and scatter a generous amount of black pepper over the noodles (use as much pepper as you like, but this dish is intended to be very peppery). Finish with a little drizzle of sesame oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
- If you like spicy, stir in a spoonful of Sambal Oelek or hot sauce of choice.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
378 Comments on “Life-Changing Udon Noodles”
Love this recipe and Hetty McKinnon! Hoping to go to Cambodia but before then road tripping through the West towards Glacier National Park…
I want to go home(China) to see my family, and travel to south east Asia
Oooooh I’m from Jamaica and I want to go to Barbados where a friend of mine lives. We use to live together on a ship and we miss the community we had there… our other friends live on bigger continents so they get to see each other often… they drive or take a train or bus… we live on islands and don’t have close community in our countries. A meet up with each other would be my first choice.
What a beautiful book!
Switzerland has been on the top of my travel list for quite some time!
I would love to take my mom for an Eurotrip and eat our way out across Europe
This book looks incredible! Thank you for the giveaway opportunity. We have been out of the country during the pandemic and haven’t seen our children in16 months and counting. It hurts to type that. We’ll go back to the US first thing to give them both the biggest, tightest and longest hugs ever!
My travel partner and I want to go to Slovenia and Northern Italy. Can’t wait to travel again. Would love a copy of this book! The noodles were yummy!
I want to go to Nicaragua, and visit my family I haven’t seen in over 10 years! Love your blog, thank you for inspiring me to bake. I was always afraid but now I make your peasant bread at least 3 times a month! 💕
If it wasn’t for covid I would have been in Singapore, enjoying al the different cultural influences through the amazing food culture they have. Now I’m just dreaming about chili crab and Laksa… Good dreams they are. Maybe I should try to make some myself since we’re probably not going far away anytime soon. This recipe looks delish!! However, since that’s the case, I planned a trip closer to home; a wine tour through Tuscany, Italy. Driving through the beautiful rolling hills and over the wide driveways full of slender cypresses…Hitting places like San Gimignano, Chianti, Montepulciano.. Fingers crossed!
My next trip should be Scandinavia. I cross my fingers to be able to go this summer.
Gorgeous recipe! Can’t wait to get my hands on the book! I can’t wait to travel to Alaska to meet my cousin’s new baby, and to Vermont to spend time with my Dad!
I love Hetty’s recipes
This looks amazing!! I’m going to make it this weekend 🙂
Will be travelling to my family in Canada when this is all over — to give the biggest hugs and kisses to my grandparents who I haven’t seen for many months. Counting down the days!!!
I’d love to head back to Italy… especially Florence in the summer, and taking my baby girl… Eating fresh pasta and gelato watching her see that sunset she loves eating and can’t wait for her to see the world.
Your blog has been a boon during the pandemic and so many of your recipes have made the family “keeper” pile. The challah was a particular winner. I made these noodles immediately because as you noted I did have most of the ingredients on hand already. So fast and so delicious even with some swaps (didn’t have veg stock and baby bok choy so used chicken stock and cabbage and baby spinach). The kids especially loved the soft boiled egg! I always have certain Asian foods (I am Korean-American) in freezer and pantry and the frozen udon is a must-have.
As for travel, anywhere! We are thinking Cadiz, Spain for next year and a trip back to the Turks and Caicos and maybe a return to Seoul if my son does a semester abroad there.
Such a remarkable simple recipe that we enjoyed. Would love to use those chopsticks ❣️And of course travel to Asia!
I would love to go to the beach, Italy, France… Maybe a beach in Italy than France?!! Anywhere would be amazing!
This recipe is amazing and it’s also so wonderful to showcase Asian authors, chefs, and recipe creators as the Asian community needs our support!! As for traveling…my husband and I moved to New York right before the pandemic and have been dying for the US/CAN border to open up so we can travel to Montreal!! The food, the music, the art and culture, UGH! I can’t wait.
I can’t wait to try this. My trip will be up north…as my son heads to the Yukon (where amazing salmon and arctic char abound), I can’t get away that long so will head to Iceland to drink in the midnight sun.
Will rate once I have made this!
I too would travel back to Italy, to my mothers’s home town and revisit the sassi of Matera. I adore udon noodles …I plan on making this recipe this week. Thanks for posting
The first place I’d like to go is Japan! Never been before, but looking forward to the amazing food and mix of historic temples/scenery and incredible cities.
Yum! Can’t wait to make this recipe! Japan has been top of my travel list for a while but I’d also like to visit Croatia and Poland again – such beautiful hiking!
I am so excited to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing it! When I can travel again, I’m heading to Bermuda to celebrate our 25th anniversary.
I love all things noodle! I can’t wait to try this recipe. I would love to travel to Sri Lanka, which is where I’m from originally, but actually, I’d go anywhere!
I’m going to travel to meet my boyfriend’s parents in person for the first time!!
I can’t wait to get my hands on this book! The pandemic canceled a solo trip to France that I was planning, so I’m dreaming about bicycling through the French countryside when this is all over.
This recipe looks delicious and I love your beautiful pictures! I hope to travel to Washington DC to visit my brother who returned from a deployment in Afghanistan right as the pandemic began. I haven’t hugged him in nearly 2 years.
This looks great. If things really open up internationally, I would love to go to Italy….and always, back to Israel. If only in the U.S., would love to see Hawaii, if I ever get up the nerve to fly. Meanwhile, we may go on a small road trip to either Seattle or Arizona.
I have my sights set on Spain when the travel gates are opened! I’m excited to try this noodle dish and the Sushi salad. Thanks, Ali, for always sharing such great content.
Oh man! This looks amazing.